True crime TV shows aren't new, but that hasn't stopped different shows like "Mindhunter" and "Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G." from coming to the small screen. These shows aren't always historically accurate, but many use real-life stories as inspiration. And although some people like theorizing "whodunnit," in real life, there isn't always justice at the end of it all.
These nine famous crimes are all unsolved — but that doesn't stop historians, police, and the public from coming up with their own theories as to who was responsible.
Here are some of the most famous unsolved crimes in history.
Jack the Ripper murders
In London's Whitechapel district, five female sex workers were murdered more than 130 years ago. The killer slashed the victims and even removed some organs, thus nicknaming the unidentified murderer as "Jack the Ripper." The case was closed in 1892. That hasn't stopped people from suspecting everyone from Sir John Williams, Queen Victoria's royal surgeon, to his wife, Lizzie Williams.
English historian John Morris explored the Williams theory, and others, in his book "Jack the Ripper: The Hand of a Woman." According to the Huffington Post, some people believe Lizzie Williams was Jill the Ripper since the reproductive organs of the victims were torn out — and Lizzie was infertile. Other suspects included Lord Randolph Churchill and author Lewis Carroll.
The Black Dahlia murder case
Aspiring actress Elizabeth Short, nicknamed "The Black Dahlia" after her death, was just 22-years-old when she was found dead in Los Angeles in 1947. The murder case was sensationalized in the media because Short was part of the Hollywood circuit and Short's body was drained of blood with cuts on the sides of her mouth reminiscent of a clown.
Although confessions poured in for the murder, the police didn't file charges — and the case is still open today. According to Fox News, Piu Eatwell — a British lawyer and author of "Black Dahlia, Red Rose"— believes one of Short's ex-boyfriends, Leslie Dillon, was her killer. Dillon was a former mortician's assistant and an aspiring writer.
Meanwhile, a retired police detective thinks that his deceased father Dr. George Hodel was actually the killer. USA Today reported that Dr. Hodel was initially a person of interest in the case, although police didn't arrest him. The doctor's house where he allegedly murdered Short was sold for £3.5 million — around $4.2 million at today's conversion rates — in February 2018, according to The Sun.
Art Heist at the Gardner Museum
In March of 1990, 13 pieces of art were stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. According to NPR, men disguised as policemen tied up two night guards at the museum before taking off with the works of Flinck, Manet, and Degas, among others.
In 2015, the FBI claimed they identified the thieves as two local mobsters who died shortly after the heist, according to the Boston Globe. They refused to name the men, however, and are still looking for the unrecovered works today. The Boston Globe also reported that the FBI believes the artwork circulated around Philadelphia through organized crime families.
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